Aeroplane



C. J. H. MACKENZIE-KENE JEDY.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-8:1919- J f 1,41 l, 1]. 15. Pasented my. 28, 1922,

' ZEHHLIS-SHEET 1- C.-J. H, MACKENZIE-KENNEDY.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8. I919- 1,411, It 1 5. Patented Mar. 1922,

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App!ieation filed September 8, 1919, Serial No. 322,40M.

To all whom it may concern." I

Be it known that I GHEssBoRoUo JAMEs HENRY MAoKENZIE-KENNEDY, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Westminster, London, England, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

'Aeroplanes have heretofore been provided near to but in front of the tail with guns but these have been fixed position guns, that is to say, they have been so mounted as to point directly aft through the tail while the gunner has been accommodated well up in the body of the machine. Consequently there has been little or no angle of fire in a w backward direction.

Now according to the present invention an (aeroplane is provided behind the tail there- I 'other appropriate gun mounting, for all round fire, being carried by it. Such a un mounting, provided with a gun swivel an an overhanging gun carrying arm, is or may be so secured to the upper end portion of the hollow tail end extension that the gun carrying arm can be moved into av depressed position in which it will overhang either side, or the extreme tail end of the extension, either in an inclined or vertical position, so as in the latter case to admit of vertical downward fire and the arrangement is such that the gunner has an almost unobstructed view in all directions and so that he can direct and fire his gun through a large horizontal an le laterally and rearwardly and also forward y, and also, it may be, in an inclined or vertical downward direction, as well .as in an upward direction.

Aeroplanes provided with accommodation aft of their tails for tail guns and gunners may also have in the upper parts of the bodies between the main planes and the tail accommodation for guns and, gunners, the arrangement of the latter guns being such as er extent than the usual proportionate amount, in order that the extra weight thus Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Man, 28, 1922.

provided ahead of the centre of gravity of the machine, can be used to partly balance the weight of the said extension and the gun and .gunner carried thereby, the complete balance being provided for by other means, as for instance by arrangin the engine at an appropriate distance ahea of the centre of gravity. Such an arrangement would ordinarily give an excessive amount of side surface, usually termed lateral fin areain front of the centre of gravity of the machine. This however is balanced or counteracted by the considerable depth necessarily given to the tail end extension of the body to accommodate the gunner. In this way any disadvantage that might otherwise arise as the result of providing the machine with a tail gun as described is avoided.

In order that the tail gun may be directed and fired in a forward and upwardly inclined direction, over thebody of the machine without interference from the tail plane, or dam age of such tail plane, the machine instead of being provided with a biplane tail,'such as. is commonly fitted to relatively large armed machines in which the top plane passes as a single unit across and above the tail end of the body and which with its system of cross bracings would thereby almost completely obstruct all forward vision and upwardly inclined vision in a forward direc-,

tion, of thegunner, there is preferably employed a tail surface of monoplane type consisting of two separate or independent right and left hand tail parts of; surfaces each braced as a single complete unit, so as to leave I a clear spacebetween the two tail parts or surfaces above the centralportion of the body of the machine. The plane of each tail part or surface may advantageously be approximately on a level with the gun when the same is in a position for firing forward and nearly horizontal. Tail planes suitable for the purpose set forth and provided with vertical rudders and fixed fins, can be variously constructed but may advantageously be of the construction described in the specification of another application for Letters Patent filed by me and another Serial No. 341,266, filed Nov. 28, 1919. Although it is preferred to use a tail of the monoplanetype above referred to, an aeroplane provided with a tail gun as described may be provided w1t11 any type of tail plane whether multiplane, b1- plane or monoplane, the essential feature of the invention being the provision of an aeroplane with a tail gun.

The accompanying drawings lllus'trate one construction of aeroplane embodying the 1nvention, Fig. 1 being a side elevation of the aeroplane, Fig. 2 a longitudinal section wlth the tail surface removed, Fig. 3 a plan of the tail portion of the body with the outer covering removed, Fig. 4 an elevation of the tail from behind. Fig. 5 is a plan View showing the gun positions behind the main planes.

As will be seen from Fig. 1 the body of the aeroplane is extended aft of the tail a where it is constructed to accommodate a gunner and gun mounting for all round fire, whilst, to balance the weights thus added, the body of the machine is also extended "in front of the main wings or planes 6 and the englne arranged at an appropriate distance ahead of the centre of gravity. The hollow tail end extension of the body of'the machine is formed by extending lateral longitudinal members 0 of the framework of the body, which are connected bytransverse frames d, sufliciently to the rear of the tail plane to form the required rearward extension; connecting them behind the tail plane and at the rear ends, by outwardly curved or convex upper, lower and intermediate horizontal end members h and 2', connecting the latter members by one or more outwardly convex Vertical members is, and covering the open framework thus constituted by wood or other sheathing. Upon the upper outwardly curved or convex member 9 connecting the rear ends of the upper lateral longitudinal members 0 and a transverse member Z connecting 'the same longitudinal members at more forward portions of their length, is secured a horizontal gun ring m for the tail gun. To the lower portion of the framework of the tail end extension is secured means, such as wood battens n to support a floor for the said extension within which isior may be a support 0 adapted to form a kneeling pad or a seat for the gunner, according as he is firing rearwardly or forwardly, the head or head and shoulders of the gunner extending upward through the gun ring m. This gun ring may be arranged in a horizontal plane at a lower level than the top of the ad acent portion of the body of the machine.

The tail end extension may be provided with more than one gun, for instance with two guns arranged with their axes parallel to one another.

The tail, shown, comprises two separate parts or surfaces marked a, a. Each of the parts is braced independently as a separate unit and supported by inclined struts p at- .tached to the body. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that this arrangement is devoid of the usual fins, rudder, struts, framework or bracing above the body where they seriously obstruct the field of fire. Each tail part is provided with a vertical rudder a fixed fin a and elevator a g, Figs. 1 and 5, are two gun positions in the upper part of the body of the machine arranged side by side just behind the main planes. These close to or over anging the sides so as to permit of vertical or oblique fire both upwards and downwards over the side. In some cases, there may be more than two gun positions and in other cases only one gun position between the main planes and the tai lVhat I claim is 1. An aeroplane provided aft of the tail thereof with a hollow built up tail end extension and one or more guns and accommodation for one or more gunners within said extension substantially as described.

2. An aeroplane according to claim 1 wherein accommodation is also provided in the upper part of the body between the main planes and the tailfor one or more guns and gunners, substantially as described.

3. An aeroplane according to claim 1 having a tail comprising two separate parts each suitably supported and braced as a separate unit so as to leave a comparatively clear space above the body for forward fire, substantially as described.

4:. An aeroplane according to claim 3 wherein each tail part consists of the usual main and elevator surfaces and is provided at some distance from its body end with one or more vertical rudders and fin surfaces and is supported from the under side by inclined struts, substantially as described.

5. An aeroplane provided aft of the tail thereof with one or more guns and accommodation for one or more gunners and having a tail comprising two separate parts each suitably supported and braced as a separate unit so as to leave a comparativelyclear space above the body for forward fire.

6. An aeroplane provided aft of the tail thereof with one or more guns and accommodation for one or more gunners and having gun mountings on opposite sides thereof in rear of and close to the main planes and guns on said mountings arranged to over- .hang the sides of the body of the machine so as to permit of vertical or oblique fire both upwards and downwards over said sides.

un positions are arranged 7. An aeroplane provided aft of the tail thereofwith a hollow built up tail end extension and one or more guns and accommodation for one or moi'eigunners Within said 5 extension, and having a tail surface of monoplane type consisting of two separate or independent right and left hand tail parts or surfaces each braced as a single complete unit, so as to leave a clear space between the two tail parts or surfaces above the central 1(1 portion of the body of the machine.

Signed at London, England, this 7th day of July, 1919.

CHESSBOROUGH JAMES HENRY MAQEKENZHE-KENNEDY. 

